5 Classic Reasons to Play Omaha Poker

We love No Limit Texas Hold’Em. A lot. It’s the poker variant that we always come back to, that we talk about, that we encourage new players to get really good at. But there is a nasty secret that we have to reveal: sometimes we get burned out. There are only so many hands of Hold’Em that you can play before things get really old, really fast. We think that it’s a fine game and we will still recommend it to people. But there does come a point in your poker season why you might be hungry for something else.

Need a suggestion? Why not turn to Omaha Poker? Believe it or not, the two variations aren’t as far apart as you might expect.

The first reason to check out Omaha is simple: it’s not that different from what you’ve already played. The nice tweak here is that you get four hole cards to use instead of just the two that come standard with NLHE! That adds an interesting twist, don’t you think?

The next reason why you should think about Omaha is that there are a lot of variants underneath this umbrella. You can go with Stud or Hi-Lo, and still have a great time. You don’t necessarily need “no limit” poker in order to enjoy yourself; you just think you do because it’s probably the only variant you know.

A third reason to check this out is that if you have dreams of a big poker tournament, you’re going to need to know more than just NLHE to survive. Many of these tournaments also have a smaller Omaha event. Maybe you can’t beat anybody in the NLHE category but you might be able to brush up on a lesser practiced variant and clean up at those tables. It’s a smaller crowd so there’s a good chance that if you practice you could rise above the ranks faster.

The fourth reason to check it out is that you get to see more flops and ultimately have more showdowns. Preflop engagement isn’t as important with Omaha — you get to see those flops. How many times have you played NLHE and felt cheated because you didn’t get to see your monster hand connect with a deserving flop? We’ve been there and it’s not fun.

But the best reason to play Omaha is that there are tons of fish out there. Everyone optimizes for NLHE but few optimize for Omaha. This means that the competition tends to be a little easier to deal with, which means sucking up pots that would be off limits to you in the “big” variant of no limit poker.

Keep all of these things in mind as you expand your horizons. And you know that we will always recommend that you explore, expand, and extend yourself in positive ways that lead to more money and less stress. You will find a vibrant Omaha community around, if you wish to look for them.